A World On Fire
by kate-dammit-run
Summary: The residents of Chester's Mill finally have a chance to escape the horrors of the dome, but will the exit tunnels spell freedom for everyone involved? Can they trust Melanie? Will Julia and Junior escape or are their fate's sealed in the tunnels? Will Julia and Barbie reunite? And what is happening with the Egg? Post s2 ensemble fic. Julia/Barbie a bit of Joe/Norrie & Junior/Angie
1. Chapter 1

**A World On Fire: **The residents of Chester's Mill finally have a chance to escape the horrors of the dome, but will the exit tunnels spell freedom for everyone involved? Can they trust Melanie? Will Julia and Junior escape or are their fate's sealed in those tunnels? Will Julia and Barbie reunite? And what is happening with the Egg? A post s2 fic.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Escape**

"Follow me," she said, water dripping from head to toe, dressed in the same clothes she died in, "we're going home."

No one moved. They all just stood there at the edge of the light, unsure of what to do next. They just stared at her for a moment, and then, as if on cue, everyone turned to Barbie, silently waiting for his next move. "Melanie," he eventually said, carefully moving just a step towards her. There was just something…_off. _His gut feeling told him that the girl who fell into the crater a few hours ago and this girl standing in front of them now weren't exactly the same. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"Home," she said again, the same odd smile on her face, "isn't that where you promised we will go?" she added, her smile dropping and her gaze growing colder.

"Zen-" he started to ask as he took another step towards her, cutting his words abruptly when he saw it. Her feet weren't on the ground. Melanie was _floating. _He turned in shock towards Joe and Norrie who were close behind him, hoping that they saw it. He recognized the stunned look on their faces must match his. He looked back towards her…_Melanie _and realized she must not be aware of the change in their mannerism. She was still smiling.

"It's not her… It's not Melanie," he heard Norrie's voice behind him and he quickly turned.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"It's like when we saw my mom in the woods, after she had died… the Egg was trying to send us a message and used my mom as a… vessel," she explained.

"Can we trust… her?" Sam said, joining the small huddled conversation.

Barbie shrugged, and before he could speak, Joe said, "what other choice do we have? We can't go back, and staying here isn't an option either. And when Julia did what Norrie's mom asked us to do in the woods that day, the dome saved your life."

He spoke with his eyes focused on Barbie. Joe was right. What other option did they have? Barbie looked around him at all the scared faces, watching him, expecting him to lead them, to know what to do next. God how much he wished Julia was here right now. She would know what to do. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of her, trying to gather her strength, her courage, imagining her by his side. Julia would trust the dome; she would trust this _Melanie. _He opened his eyes and spoke, "Let's go everyone. This way," he moved his body to the side opening the path towards the way out.

"Joe, Norrie, you guys take the lead. Take Carolyn with you," he guided, "Sam, Hunter and I will stay at the end." The people started to walk by slowly, some eyeing him nervously, others looking at him with a slight air of mistrust. He did not blame them.

"Listen, Sam, you guys go ahead," Barbie said, as the last group prepared to step into the opening. "Where are you going?" Sam enquired suspiciously. "I need to go back get Julia. I'm not leaving without her," Barbie explained. Sam nodded, "ok, we'll be waiting for you guys. Be careful."

Barbie watched as Sam took Aidan's hand and stepped towards the opening, followed closely by Hunter. He got ready to head back when a stern voice stopped him. "What are you doing?" it was the Egg's messenger, the "Melanie" that was leading them _back home. _"I need to get Julia," Barbie explained, his tone laced with annoyance.

"No you're not," she said coldly.

"_Excuse me?" _Barbie turned towards her angrily, "I'm not leaving her here. She's your _Monarch,_ surely you're not just going to let her die in here!"

"This tunnel is not her way out," she said, the look in her eyes blank, devoid if any emotion. If Barbie had any doubts before that this was not his sister, they were gone now. _This _was definitely not Melanie.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he spat out, "I'm going back for her."

"I SAID NO!" the _thing _that looked like Melanie screamed and her voice sent the tunnels into another earth shattering tremor. Barbie desperately held on to the wall beside him as the ground below him shook violently. And then, when a crashing, deafening sound filled his ears just as the tremors stopped, he turned around to see the path behind him; the one leading back to Julia was now completely blocked.

He felt the anger in him rise, a hot fire surge through his body and then it spoke again, calm as though nothing had happened, "you need to come with me now, Dale."

* * *

Julia and Junior stood at the edge of the chasm, neither of them saying anything, just staring blankly at the gap in the path that stood in the way of their freedom. They both knew it but feared to voice what they believed out loud. With every passing minute, with every quake and tremor, their chances of survival grew less and less.

"What are we going to do?" Junior said, staring ahead, the fear and panic evident in his gaze.

Julia turned to him, painfully aware of their diminishing chances. She _wanted _to believe they had a chance. She _needed _to believe. She shook her head, "I don't… I don't know," she replied. "We're going to be fine, James, we just need-" she started to say when suddenly a strange sound echoed from the tunnels ahead. And a few seconds later a swarm of Monarch butterflies came fluttering through the dark tunnels ahead. They ducked quickly, watching in awe above them as the swarm sped by. "What the hell!?" Junior said in shock and all Julia could do was shake her head and watch the what seemed to be an endless flutter of butterflies.

"What's going on?" Junior said once they were back on the feet, the last of the butterflies disappearing out of the crater, "shouldn't _you _know?" his voice came out more accusatory than he intended.

"I… I really don't know," Julia huffed, leaning against the tunnel wall, the pain in her leg becoming almost unbearable.

Junior sighed and leaned against the rocks across from her, "my mother died today," he spoke wistfully, "for the second time. And… and I just shot my father," he added, his eyes clouded with sadness, "maybe I should die here too today, put an end to the Rennie line."

"Don't say that, James," Julia said confidently, seeing how broken the young man before her was, feeling guilty for being the reason he had to shoot his own father, "we're going to find a way out."

"How?" he asked in dejection. "I don't know," she said honestly, "but the dome didn't put us through all of that just to have us die here."

He didn't say anything. He just looked at her for a moment before turning away and staring at the darkness ahead. "Ermmm… Julia?" he stuttered as the darkness he had been staring into suddenly filled with a blinding white light. She looked up into the tunnels and immediately shielded her eyes as the light flooded the space around. _Barbie, what the hell is happening up there with you guys, _she thought to herself. Junior had his forearm across his face, squinting as he tried to see through the light. This was definitely something new, even for Chester's Mill. They spent the next few minutes in silence, as the light dissipated and they waited for the next event. First the butterflies, then the light, their imagination was quickly running out of scenarios.

"Do you think they found a way out?" Junior asked. His question though fell unanswered. Julia was just staring ahead, a look of anticipation and anxiety over her face. It was the first time he'd seen Julia Shumway look so unsure about something.

As the seconds turned to minutes, the nervousness between them grew palpable. And then it came, the third of the series of inexplicable events in the tunnels. A loud deafening shriek that terrifyingly sounded like a human's voice and another tremor shook the tunnels. The walls around them shook violently, sending rocks flying across the space. And then it ended, as abruptly as it began. They looked towards each other, wordlessly asking if the other person was ok. "Julia, look!" Junior said, pointing at the chasm in front of them, "you think we can cross on that?"

Julia smiled. For the first time in hours, there was hope again. The rocks that had been flying above them just seconds before now sat in what was the crater, forming a bridge of sorts. She nodded hopefully, "I think so, yes," she said.

"What are you two waiting for! Come one!" Junior's head popped up quickly, towards the female voice across the crater. He knew that voice quite well.

"Angie?" Julia said in disbelief, looking at the young woman standing just a few meters away and then back at Junior.

"You see her too?" Junior asked in shock. The last time he saw Angie, she was just a figment of his imagination, a manifestation of his conscience.

Julia looked between the two in confusion, "ermm… yes…" she confirmed.

"Are you going to just stand there?" Angie said again, motioning for them to start running.

They made their way quickly across the bridge, joining Angie on the other side. "Angie? Is it really you?" Junior asked, his emotions bubbling through his voice.

"I think we both know what I am," she said with a smirk and swiftly turned and started walking down the tunnels, "now, follow me if you want to get out of here."

Out of options and out of any other choices of survival, they did as they were told. The three ran through the unsteady tunnels for a few minutes, dodging falling rocks and leaping over gaps. The pathway kept getting darker and darker until it was completely pitch black. "Are you ready?" Angie said and before they could answer, or even inquire as to what they were supposed to be ready for, a cold, grey fog surrounded them.

* * *

Just like the first time, Barbie woke up in the playground in Zenith. The last thing he remembered was walking through the light, angry, frustrated…_guilty. _He woke up with a jolt, jumping to his feet quickly and looking around him. The townspeople were all gathered around him, watching him anxiously.

"Barbie, we have a problem," Sam was the first to speak, lending Barbie a hand and helping him up. He looked around him and quickly understood. The unassuming playground he woke up in the first time was now empty of any children. Instead, there was a police tape surrounding it and it was heavily guarded, the same black uniform guards that were at he dome. And they all had their weapons raised and aimed at the former residents of Chester's Mill.

"I thought you said this was safe."

"What's happening?"

"Are they gonna killa us?"

The panicked voices around him started to rise, people pushing and shoving, trying to get closer to him. He put his hands up, urging them to calm down, "everyone please just stay calm, everything will be fine," he said, his eyes never leaving the armed men on the perimeter, their weapons still raised but who never made any attempt to come near them.

The people around him seemed to settle slightly, their voices slightly more hushed as they whispered among each other. Their fear and anxiety obviously not relieved.

"Where's _Melanie?_" he asked those around him. "She didn't come through with us," Hunter quickly said.

Barbie sighed heavily, "Sam, keep an eye on everyone. I'll handle this," he said and walked towards the soldiers, making his towards the one guy who looked to be in charge.

"I need to talk to Don Barbara," he said to him confidently.

The soldier across from him smiled coldly, "you must be Dale Barbara, Captain Dale Barbara," he said, "I'm afraid your father, _Don Barbara," _he said the name with a strange tone of mockery, no one ever said Don Barbara's name without a twinge of fear or at least respect, "is no longer the man in charge here."

* * *

**So, this is my attempt at telling the events that might happen in the wake of the events of the season 2 finale. It is going to be a 14-chapter story (already all planned out), so if you're interested in it please let me know. I'm excited about it, but if no one else is I guess there's no point of writing it ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Desert**

Her consciousness returned to her like a slow drag from out of thick molasses, her eyelids heavy and tired, battling against heavy sunlight that fell against them. She was lying on her back, hot wind blowing against her face. She finally managed to open her eyes, squinting immediately against the rays of sun, looking above her and seeing only sky. She pushed herself up, every muscle in her body aching at the motion and her hands burning against the hot sand she lay in. She looked around, in every direction, and all she saw was sand. Junior next to her started to slowly rise, his forearm shielding his eyes as he came to and pushed up.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, looking around them to come to the same realization as she had. They were in the desert.

"Yeah… you?" she asked, dusting the sand off her hands and jeans as she got up.

"I'm fine… Where are?" Junior wondered, still looking around in every direction. They were definitely not in Zenith.

"No idea… do you remember anything after that fog?" Julia questioned.

"No. Nothing. You?" Junior said and Julia just shook her head.

"What now?" He asked, looking more like a confused teenager than the young confident man he had to be under the dome.

Julia thought for a moment. She needed to find Barbie. If she and Junior made it out then so did everyone else. And since they weren't here in this desert with them… they must have ended in Zenith. First thing's first, they needed to find the closest town, or any sort of civilization. They needed money, they needed… They needed many things. She'd left Chester's Mill with nothing but the clothes on her back, and from the looks of it, Junior was the same. "Do you have any money with you? Or… or a phone?" she asked him and he shook his head. Reaching into his pockets he pulled out a crumpled ten dollar bill. "That's all I've got," he replied, "no phone… no ID."

Julia nodded, "ok… here's what we do," she stated, wishing more than anything that Barbie was there with her, he'd know what to do. "We start walking and the first town we get to… we don't know what the others walked into, if Zenith is as unsafe as Barbie thinks… no one should know we were under the dome. So we… we pretend we're brother and sister, that we got carjacked in the middle of the desert," she explained as the plan started to take shape. "We keep as low a profile as possible. Find a quick way to make enough money for bus tickets… or renting a car… No, we can't do that. Neither of us has ID," she said.

"Maybe we can get in touch with the Hounds of Diana… Hunter's website, Maybe they know where everyone else ended up and they'll tell us where they are," Junior suggested and Julia nodded. "We should get a phone too, one of those burner phones," he added and she agreed.

They had walked for a few hours, tired, hungry and dehydrated, before they found an actual road and someone to give them a lift. They tried to have as little conversation with the guy who picked them as possible. He seemed to buy their story for the most part, not bothering to ask about any of the details that they themselves hadn't figured out. They kept quiet for most of the trip, looking out for signs to figure out where they were. They were in Texas.

A folded newspaper on the dash caught Junior's attention. He acted nonchalant as his eyes scanned the front page, his heart beating fast as he read the title and saw the image that covered most of the front page. "When's this paper from?" he casually asked the driver. "I dunno… two days ago I think," he replied.

"Mind if I take it," Junior inquired, hoping that his question didn't raise any eyebrows, but the man didn't seem to care. "Sure, it was just gonna sit here until my wife throws it away anyway," the driver replied.

Julia watched and listened with intrigue from the back seat but also made sure not to give the situation too much attention. Whatever Junior saw in that paper had to be important.

They asked the driver to let them off as soon as they reached the first town, a small one very much like Chester's Mill. "Ok, what's with the newspaper?" Julia quickly questioned Junior the moment she slammed the door. Junior said nothing. He just handed her the paper and waited for her reaction. Julia's eyes widened as she read the big bold letters "RESIDENTS OF CHESTER'S MILL ESCAPE THE DOME AFTER THREE WEEKS OF ENTRAPMENT".

"They made it out…" her voice came out in a relieved whisper.

"Julia… that paper is from two days ago… they've been out for two days. We just woke up in the desert _today," _Junior said, "and that's not all, look at the picture."

Julia unfolded the paper and saw the group image that covered half the paper. She studied the tired faces of the survivors, one by one, and then it hit her, she understood what Junior was referring too. The picture was missing Sam, Norrie, Joe and _Barbie._

* * *

The armed guards had rounded the residents of Chester's Mill who had just appeared in the playground and loaded them into buses. They got everyone except a certain someone who did not belong. Hunter managed to sneak away from the crowd and not get put on a bus.

No one spoke to them or explained what was happening, which only further infuriated Barbie. Once at the location, they were debriefed. The government just wanted to run some tests on them, make sure living under that dome had left no permanent effect on them. The tests weren't any of the standard ones, but none of them could tell the difference when they were told those were the most develop methods in testing for radiation. None of them knew they were testing their reaction to the Egg. Or rather, they were testing the Egg's reaction to them.

Eventually, they were all let go. The government let every family go with a big check as severance and a chance to start over. They let everyone go except those to whom the Egg did not react violently.

"Everyone ok?" Barbie asked. It was the first time they were seeing each other for two days. He had spent those two days arguing with everyone he saw and managed to get punched a few times too for refusing to cooperate. For the most part they had him dragged from one dark room to another without telling him anything. It drove him mad. But mostly what infuriated him was that no one was telling him what was happening to everyone else. He had let Julia down and now he was letting down everyone else who had trusted him and counted on him.

He looked around him. He was in another military transport vehicle and this time with only Sam, Joe and Norrie.

"We're ok," Joe said. "Better than you! What happened to your face?" Norrie added, getting a grumpy look from Barbie for her question.

"What happened in there? Where are they taking us now?" Sam asked.

"And where's everyone else?" Joe added.

"They let them go," Norrie quickly replied.

"What?" all three men said, popping their heads in her direction.

"My mom… I saw her and she told me they gave her a check and told her she's free to go, so is everyone else," Norrie explained, "but they said I can't because they needed to run some more tests on me."

"That's bullshit," Barbie spat, "they weren't running any medical tests on us."

"What do you think they were doing?" Joe asked.

"This is about the Egg," Sam replied, "isn't it?"

Barbie nodded, "it's all the government cares about at the moment. We know the Egg goes insane when the wrong person touches it. You guys… you're all part of the _hands. _The government must have figured this out somehow."

"Hunter…" Joe derided.

"No, he wouldn't," Norrie quickly defended him.

"Think about it, Nor, he's the only one who knows that the three of us are among the hands and he saw what Barbie did in the tunnels," Joe explained.

Barbie shook his head, and before Norrie could speak, he said, "I didn't do anything. I've never tried to touch the Egg even." Joe looked at him, not believing that Barbie was actually defending Hunter.

"Look, I'm not saying he did or didn't do it," Barbie said just as the vehicle started moving, "listen, all that matters now, whatever happened next, we need to stay together, got it? We need to figure out if they actually let everyone else go and what they want from us now."

They sat in silence for most of the drive. Joe and Norrie sat together, holding hands and whispering amongst them. "Do you think Julia made it out?" Joe mumbled, his voice low only for Norrie to hear. "I don't know…" she said, turning to look at Barbie. She'd never seen him look so… _broken. _He seemed to have shed the strong, confident armor he had been carrying since they'd arrived in Zenith, and just for a moment, she saw him look lost. "Yes," she spoke more confidently, "she has to make it out. She's the monarch," she said.

Looking back towards Barbie, she added in a whisper, "she has to make it out."

The vehicle came to a stop and the door opened with two armed soldiers facing them. "You either come with us quietly, or we cuff you and drag you with us, your choice," one of them said.

"We're not going anywhere until we speak to whoever's in charge here," Barbie commanded, sitting up confidently. He quickly glanced towards the others, silently telling them to stay put.

"Trust me, he wants to talk to you more than you want to talk to him," the soldier said, "you just need to come with us, let us show you to your new quarters, and then you can talk to whoever you want."

They were led through long white corridor after long white corridor for almost fifteen minutes. They were cuffed or dragged by they were surrounded by half a dozen soldiers. Any attempt at escape was suicide.

They finally stopped in front of a door; a white door in white corridor, and the lead soldier unlocked it and moved to the side, ordering them in. Barbie moved in first, standing in the doorway and looking around. It was a decently sized room with two sets of bunk beds and a small table with two chairs. There was another door at the far end, most probably to a bathroom he assumed.

And then, just before he stepped in he saw someone sitting on one of the beds, his face obscured in the shadow. The man moved forward, coming in the light, and Barbie felt the blood in his veins boil. Sitting right there, just a few steps from him was _his father._

* * *

Julia and Junior read the article. They read it over and over. It joyfully celebrated the escape of the residents of Chester's Mill, talked about the generous compensations they all got, the second chance to restart their lives and it even included interviews with some of them. No one said anything about the four missing people. It was like they never even existed.

"What's going on?" Junior wondered, "there's no way everyone got out and they didn't. There's just no way."

"If we made it out… then they must have too," Julia agreed, "there's no way the dome would keep them there."

"Do you think the same thing happened to them too? I mean, like us, they could have ended somewhere else," Junior suggested.

Julia nodded, "that's possible," she said, "and if they did, they'll be heading to Zenith. That's what we should do."

"What do you suggest we do?" Junior asked.

"First thing, find a way to make some quick money, just enough to get a couple of bus tickets. Then, we find a library, try to get in touch with Hunter, or at least check out if he has anything up on his website," Julia said.

They maintained their cover as siblings who were carjacked. They were lucky that a diner owner took pity on them. One of her employees called in sick and she needed someone to wash dishes for the day. Junior offered to do that while Julia went in search for a library. She knew it was dangerous to check her own email address; logging in might trigger an alert if they were really looking for them. She set up a new account, thinking she might need it later and once she was done, she signed up on The Hounds of Diana. All the posts there seemed to be a few days old, except one vague entry, a day old, that only said one thing "Everything the government is telling you is a LIE! The truth will be revealed! They cannot lie to us forever! New post coming tomorrow that will SHOCK THE WORLD!"

She browsed the website further, trying to find a way to contact Hunter directly, but there was only a generic contact form. She had no other choice. She thought for a moment and then typed.

_H, what used to be the most exciting thing about Chester's Mill? –J_

She remembered hearing the kids talk about Hunter's excitement about Little Bitch Road and hoped the message was vague enough to not raise any suspicion but also clear enough, that if Hunter received it, he'd know who it was from.

She met Junior at the diner three hours later. "How did it go?" she asked. "Not too bad," he replied, "but we only have enough to get us halfway through, if we want to spend a little on food and water," he explained.

"It's ok," she said "let's start with what we have and figure out more along the way."

"We can steal a car," Junior suggested, prompting a disapproved look from Julia, "we are _not_ stealing a car," she reprimanded him. "It'll be faster than hopping on an off buses," he argued but relented when her gaze hardened, "ok, o, I was trying to be helpful."

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Barbie hissed at the man in front of him.

Don Barbara put his hands up defensively; moving to the edge of the bed and watching the four people walk into the room and the door slam behind them. His some stood in front of them, instinctually keeping them away from his father.

"I'm here for the same reasons you are. I'm a _prisoner_ here just like you are," Don said.

Barbie's' eyes narrowed, his nostrils flared, "Stop lying!" he warned him.

"I'm not lying to you, son. I swear. I went to the playground just like you asked, to get the Egg and bring it to you," Don defended himself, "but when I held it… they _arrested_ me."

"You _touched _the Egg? And nothing happened to you?" Joe piped in, ignoring Barbie's wordless warning.

Barbie turned to him, the anger burning through his gaze, "don't talk to him," he said, "no one talk to him or _believe_ a word he says."

Don tried a few more times to get Barbie or his friends to listen, but there was no way any of them would listen to him, respecting Barbie's wishes. For the next few hours nothing happened. No one came for them or talked to them. Everyone sat in one corner of the room silently waiting, except for Barbie. He paced the room for a while before taking to banging against the locked door and calling out for anyone who could hear. He'd almost given up hope when the door unlocked and someone slipped in quickly.

Dressed in all black, like all the other soldiers, this one though seemed to be unarmed. He pulled back the cap he was wearing but before he could speak, Barbie had grabbed him from his collar and shoved him against the wall.

"What are _you _doing here?" Barbie growled.

"Easy man! You really got to stop doing this!" he said.

"Hunter!" Norrie expressed delightfully and ran up to him, "Barbie, let go of him."

Barbie let go, stepping back a bit to give him space.

Hunter smiled proudly, "I'm here to break you out."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Ghosts**

"What are you talking about?"

"How are you here?"

"Are you working with _them?"_

The group showered Hunter with questions upon hearing what he just said. _I'm here to break you out. _

Hunter put his hands up, urging them to keep it down and let him talk. "I snuck out in the park," he started to explain, "no one was looking for me, the only people who knew I was under the dome were Trevor, Malick, and him," he said looking at Don. "I went back to my place and tried to find out as much as I could about what was happening."

"The Egg had made it here, like you thought it had, but no one had been able to touch it. All those who tried were _zapped _and ended up in the hospital. Except for one person," Hunter said, looking back at Don, "your father is telling the truth, Barbie, he did go to the park and he was able to touch it without anything happening to him. So he was taken, brought here. They tried to use him to figure out how it works but they still can't." Hunter explained.

"Wait… how do you know all this? And how did you get in here?" Sam asked.

"I built all their security systems and networks," Hunter said, looking over his left shoulder at a camera in the ceiling, "we hacked in, got everything they've been working on, all their communications."

"And how did you get in here undetected?" Norrie asked.

Hunter pulled out his phone from his pocket, "check it out," he said logging into an app and turning the phone around for them to see, "this is what they see on their security cameras right now."

The screen showed a feed from an hour ago, with all of them in the room without Hunter. "I've got just a thirty minute loop running, so we don't have much time."

"Can they hear us? Not now, but when it's running normally?" Barbie asked.

"They can't no. But I can... when I'm hacked into the system," Hunter said, "so, how do you want to do the whole _escaping _thing?"

"Where's the Egg? We can't leave without the Egg," Joe asked.

"It's here, somewhere, under heavy security," Hunter said, "they are going to start taking you one by one, find out what you know, do…tests."

"Hunter, can you figure out exactly where it is?" Barbie asked, "we'll have to take it with us if we break out."

"Son, that's too dangerous," Don said.

Barbie shook his head, "we've lost too many people to this Egg, we're not just gonna leave it behind," he said with a twinge of sadness in his voice.

"Yea, I think I can," Hunter said, "what do you have in mind?"

Barbie thought for a moment. "Let's just take it one step at a time, okay? You'll be able to come back here?" He asked him.

"Yea of course," Hunter reassured him.

"Ok, let's find out where they're keeping it. Find out as much as you can, how many guards, their patterns, rotations, how armed they are, everything… and then we'll figure what to do next," Barbie explained.

"Ok," Hunter said, checking his watch, "I need to get going," he said.

Norrie stepped up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "be careful, okay?" she said.

He pulled back and smiled at her, looked around and smiled at the rest, "you guys be careful, too, ok? Don't let them break you."

* * *

24 Hours Later

A loud conversation outside their cell door woke Barbie up and the rest quickly followed. A few moments later, the door opened and a middle-aged suited man walked in. He looked around the room smugly, "Hello, Don," he said, "you look well rested today."

Barbie looked at his father, and for the first time in his life, he saw his father weak, beaten. _What has this man done to him?_

"Who are you?" Barbie asked, stepping up and walking over to the man, shielding Joe and Norrie behind him.

"Good morning to you too, Dale," he said, the smug look never leaving his face.

Barbie just looked at him, tired of playing games. "I'm hurt you don't remember me," the man said, "your father and I were quite close friends when you were young."

Barbie glanced quickly towards his father and then back at the man in front of him.

"My name's John King. I founded Aktaion with your father all those years ago, before he muscled me out," he said, "but that's all in the past. What matters now is the fact that _I'm _the one on this side, and you are the ones sleeping on these bunk beds."

Barbie huffed, realizing just how petty this man was and how hard it was going to deal with him. "What do you want?" He asked him.

"Well, first, I'd like to get to know you, all of you," he said, a dark smile on his face.

Barbie looked at his friends, his father, and took a deep breath. "No," he said defiantly, "you only talk to me. You do not talk to any single one of them."

John King's menacing smile widened, "They weren't wrong about you, Dale," he said, "that's fine, let's talk."

He signaled to the guards to cuff Barbie, who silently put out his arms.

"No, stop, what are you doing?"

"Wait, Dale, no."

The others resisted, urging him not to go with them. The plan was not to split up anymore.

"It'll be ok, guys," Barbie reassured them, "don't talk to anyone until I return."

Barbie walked out with King and his guards, hearing the cell door slam behind them. "If you touch those kids…" he warned. He knew he was in no position to issue threats. King let go of a resonating laugh, "Really? You're threatening me?" he bellowed, "you arrogant little brat."

They walked down the white corridors until they reached a heavily guarded door. "I'd really love to spend more time with you, but I promised a friend of mine that he would get to catch up with you first," King said as the guards opened the door. Barbie took a deep breath when he saw who was inside. It was the interrogator from the last time he had been cuffed and chained in this facility; the bruises on his face from Barbie's assault still evident.

* * *

"Are you ok?" Julia asked, looking at Junior's as he tiredly rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm good…" Junior replied.

In truth, he wasn't. Neither of them was. They had not eaten in almost two days. Travelling by bus had proven too slow, the routes very inconvenient, so Julia finally relented to Junior's plan and they stole a car. He'd laughed when she asked him how he knew how to hot wire and car and told her a story of how he used to take cars from his father's showroom as a teenager and drive around with his friends.

They were moving faster now but were still a long way away from Zenith. And they had to find a way to make some more money if they were going to survive the rest of the trip.

"How much money do we have left?" He asked her.

"Enough to get us a motel room for the night, but we still need to find a way to make a bit more money, for gas and food," she told him.

They found the cheapest hotel room and were both quite relieved to be able to sleep in a real bed for the first time in days.

Julia sat on the edge of one of the beds while Junior lies down, staring at the ceiling. The room was silent for a few minutes before a voice startled both of them.

"Glad to see you both made it out," _Angie _said, "and that you've survived this long."

"Angie?" Junior's voice trembled as he sat up cautiously.

"Well… sure, you can call me that," she says, "I believe that was her name."

"What… What do you mean?" Junior asked.

"It's the dome… or the Egg," Julia explained, "it sends _messengers _to talk to us. Am I right?" she turns to ask _Angie._

"You're absolutely right," the messenger explained.

Junior wiped his eyes, as the sadness and anger mix in his veins. "What do you want from us?" he choked.

"I just wanted to make sure you are ok, and to let you know that you _should not_ go to Zenith. It is not safe there. You should go to a location close to Zenith, just outside the city," the messenger says.

"Where is that location?" Julia asks.

"We will let you know soon. For now just keep driving," she says.

"How can we even trust you!?" Junior says, obviously unsettled by the situation.

"I only want what is best for you, James, you can trust me," she says.

"What's best for us?" he cried, "If you wanted what's best for us, you would have protected Angie! You would not be using her as your puppet!"

"This image is disturbing for you?" she asked, "I apologize, I thought a familiar face, one of a person you cared about would be a good way to get your trust."

Junior dropped his head in his palms, distressed and hurting.

"Is this better?" the messenger said, and Junior looked up, shocked at the sudden change in its voice.

Angie was gone. In front of him stood his mother, Pauline.

* * *

"Dale Barbara, my favorite son of a bitch," the interrogator said as Barbie was shoved into the room, "I bet you thought we'd never get to finish our conversation from last time."

The guards forced Barbie into the chair and locked his cuffs onto the table. He clenched his jaw and stared sternly at the man in front of him.

"So, how've you been, buddy?" he taunted, waiting a moment for Barbie's reply. But he got nothing. Barbie sat silently, defiantly.

"I see you've brought your buddies with you this time," the interrogator said, "except I don't see… what's her name… the hot red head? Julia?"

Barbie's eyes grew dark with anger when he mentioned her name. He pulled at his restraints and leaned forward. "Don't you say her name," he snarled at him.

"Oh, a touchy subject," the interrogator sneered, "what? Did she finally realize who you are and she dumped your sorry ass? Or did you just leave her behind? Won't be the first time you let down a member of your own team."

The interrogator sat back, smiling evilly at what he knew was getting to Barbie. He watched Barbie closely, his nostrils flaring, his eyes red with anger, his jaw tightened and that vein in his forehead throbbing.

"You did leave her behind," he mocked proudly, "well I guess that's rest in piece, Jules," he added, basking in his taunts a moment before he explained, "oh that's right, you've been locked up, you haven't read the news about the dome collapsing. There's no way anyone who was in there could have survived."

Barbie's head fell against his chest. He hated letting this man see him this weak, but he just couldn't hold his confidence anymore.

He had let Julia down. Julia was dead. And it was all his fault.

"So where were we?" the interrogator said as he stood up and walked towards Barbie, "if I remember correctly, the last time we were doing just this," he said as his fist connected powerfully with Barbie's jaw.

Barbie just sat there, taking the force of the punch, tasting the blood as it filled his mouth. But he just sat there.

"Come on, buddy, it isn't fun if you don't resist," the interrogator yelled angrily as connected his fist with Barbie's face again.

Blood was now running down his face, the pain excruciating, but Barbie just sat there, taking he beating, the humiliation. Because he deserved it.

* * *

**AN: Hey! Hope you enjoyed this. Just two things. First, I know there's a little bit of Hunter/Norrie there but I have no intention of taking that route. I just think they can be good friends. Also, Angie **_**is **_**dead. I am sorry. But her ghost will show up again and it will be… better.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Guilt**

"What do you think is going on? What do you think they're doing to him?" Norrie asked, her question not directed at anyone specifically, especially since none of them knew the answer. It had been four hours since Barbie had been led out of the room and they had not heard back from him or anyone else.

"Do you think he's okay?" she added and looked around to see faces as equally confused and worried as she was.

It was another hour before they knew anything. The door suddenly opened and Barbie's unconscious body was sent through the door. He landed on the floor and the door was promptly shut.

"Oh my God, Dale," his father was the first to get up and rush to him, checking on him to see all the cuts and bruises that covered his face and body. Anger rushed through Don and he jumped up, banging madly against the door, "HEY! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!"

Sam and Joe lifted Barbie's body and carried him to one of the beds.

"Is he alive?" Norrie asked, her voice cracking and tears falling down her cheeks.

"Yes, he is, but he took a bad beating," Sam said, "Joe, go to the bathroom, I saw a small first aid kit. Norrie, get me towels and water," he ordered the kids as he checked over Barbie.

Norrie sat on the edge of Barbie's bed. It had been twelve hours and they were taking turns watching over him. Everyone else was asleep except for her. He hadn't woken up yet and even though Sam told them not to worry she couldn't help it. Barbie was the strongest one among them, their soldier, their leader along with Julia. They needed him.

She was deep in thought when he suddenly stirred. "Hey," she whispered gently. Barbie blinked rapidly, wincing at the pain in his side when he tried to move up.

"What happened? Where am I?" he asked, his voice hoarse and weak.

She handed him a small bottle of water, "you're back in the cell with us. They brought you back but you were unconscious," Norrie explained.

Barbie drank some of the water, bringing his fingers up to his forehead, painfully. His head was killing him. "How long have I been out?" he asked her.

"Almost twelve hours," she replied, "Barbie, what happened? Why did they do this to you?"

Barbie sighed heavily, "Payback," he said. He slowly started to remember what had happened. The guilt and heartbreak had taken over him and he had lost any desire to fight back… _to live._

"Are you guys ok?" he asked, his voice low and hurt, trying hard to divert the attention from him. He did not want Norrie to see him break down.

"Yeah, they left us alone," Norrie replied. She watched as he grimaced again. He was obviously in a lot of pain. She reached over to the little table and grabbed two pills. "Sam said to take these if you're in a lot of pain," she said handing him the pills. He shook his head, refusing them, "No, I don't need them," he said, _he deserved the pain._

"Go to sleep, Norrie," he told her, "I'm fine, you don't need to stay up to watch me." She tried to ignore his request, but he was adamant, and she was very sleepy. Barbie sat in bed for a while, waiting to make sure everyone was asleep before he finally broke down. He had lost the one good thing he had ever had in his life. He felt empty; he felt a void where his heart should be, his chest tightened and he could not breathe anymore. _Julia was gone and he wished more than anything that he was too. _

* * *

"Mom?" Junior sobbed when he saw his mother's apparition standing a few meters away from him.

"Hello, James," _Pauline_ said, "do you prefer this?"

"NO!" Junior cried, getting off the bed and rushing towards the bathroom, "Just leave me alone!"

"What do you want?" Julia snapped, "just get it over with."

"Hello, Julia," _Pauline _spoke unemotionally, "I just wanted to tell you that you must not go to Zenith. You are right to go after the others, but do not go to Zenith. It is not safe."

"Where do we then?" Julia said impatiently.

"Go to this address," Pauline said, showing Julia an address on a piece of paper, "they will be waiting for you there. And you need to get a phone, they will be in contact with you shortly."

"I don't know if you notices, but we are broke," Julia said, hoping that _thing_ understood what it meant.

"You need money?" _Pauline_ said. Julia nodded. "You don't need to worry about that either. Just play in any game of chance and we will take care of it," _Pauline _explained.

"You want us to gamble?" Julia asked in disbelief and it just nodded, with a cold smile across its face. "I'll see you later," _Pauline _said before disappearing, leaving Julia more confused than before.

She gave Junior a few minutes before she got up and knocked on the door. It wasn't shut so she opened it wider and stood there. "Are you ok?" she asked him gently.

He was sitting on the cold tiled floor, holding his head in his hands.

"I deserve this," he said in shaky voice, "I deserve more… I should have died in there, with my mom and dad… with Angie," he broke down.

Julia walked over, kneeling in front of him and placing a comforting hand on his knee. "No you don't," she said, "you deserve to be alive, to be here, out of the dome."

"You have no idea what I've done Julia," he said, "I've… I've done some pretty bad things. I should be the one dead inside the dome. Not Angie! Angie was good… _so good. _She didn't deserve to die. I… _I _should have died!"

"James," Julia said, trying to comfort the young man, "I don't know what you did, and you don't need to tell me. But you protected me, you went after your own father. You've kept a lot of people safe. You protected Joe and Norrie and Melanie so many times… I think you've earned a right to live, to survive," Julia spoke softly to the distressed Junior, "and I am glad you're here with me. I _need_ you now. I cannot do this without you."

* * *

A loud knock on the door woke them up. A guard walked silently in with their breakfast and left as silently as he walked in.

"Barbie!" Joe cried in excitement when he saw the older man was conscious.

He was looking much better than the previous day, even though his face was covered with all kinds of bruises and cuts and he held his side as he tried to walk, at least he was conscious. Sam went into doctor mode for a quick moment before Barbie made eye contact and thanked him silently for what he had done. "I'm fine," he said.

His eyes were red, swollen, due to the hours spent crying but the others did not need to know that.

They sat around the table to eat and Don walked over to Barbie. "Son, I…" he started to say but Barbie cut him off. "Dad, I know right now, we're locked up in the same cell, you're as much a prisoner here as we are," Barbie said, "but the guy who did this?" he said pointing to his, "he's_ your_ guy, the one _you_ hired to beat me up the first time. So… don't. Just… _don't_._"_

"What are we going to do now?" Joe asked as they ate their breakfast.

They all looked towards Barbie, expectantly, _hopeful._

"I don't know," Barbie answered. He shrugged and a moment later, once he saw the scared faces around him – _it wasn't their fault Julia was dead, they deserved to be hopeful – _"we wait for Hunter, see what he find out and then plan our next move," Barbie said.

After breakfast, the cell door opened again and King walked in, followed closely by the interrogator.

"What do _you _want?" Don demanded, coming to stand face to face, defiantly, with his old _friend. _

"Well, for starters, I don't need _you, _old man," King said venomously, "you've proven to be quite useless," he said, walking past Don towards Barbie who was standing up despite the pain, shielding Norrie and Joe, who stood behind him.

Before he got to him though, Sam walked up, "take me," he said.

"Sam, no," Barbie argued. Sam looked over his shoulder towards Barbie and gave him a sad smile, "whatever they do to me, I deserve it. You know that, Barbie."

"Well, that's interesting," King said, "but I'm just interested in Dale. I'm sorry, boys."

Barbie walked over to him willingly. His jaw was set, his eyes glaring at him. He was not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing just how much they hurt him yesterday.

"Barbie, no!" Joe and Norrie cried together but he ignored them and walked over, lifting up his hands awaiting the cuffs.

The interrogator pulled Barbie out of the room, leaving a smug looking King in the middle of it. "Well, this was fun, as usual," he said, "But I'm afraid I have to go."

"What did you do to him?" Don asked, desperately needing to know what they had done to break his strong and stubborn son.

"Oh, nothing," King said, "just showed him something… let him know that girlfriend of his was dead."

"Julia's dead?" Norrie asked, her eyes immediately filling with tears.

"That's her name?" King smirked, "well, whatever it is, it doesn't mater anymore. She's _gone_."

* * *

"I think there are three ribs you failed to break yesterday," Barbie said, not sure why he was taunting the man who beat him till he was unconscious just a day ago.

The interrogator smirked, "As much as I'd love to, we don't get to spend time together today."

"Such a shame," Barbie murmured, "then what do you want from me today?"

"Today," the interrogator said, "Mr. King will be talking to you."

They stopped in front of a large window, looking into an even larger room. The room was empty except for a high round table in the middle of it. On that table sat the Egg. It was shining white, and obviously, _screaming._

"Dale," King said walking up behind him, "the infamous Dale. Aren't you glad we get to hang out today?"

"Ecstatic," Barbie said, glaring at King.

"How are you?" King asked.

"Peachy."

"So you must be wondering why we've brought you here today," King said, waiting for response from Barbie but he got nothing.

"Well, you see, this little egg in there is the most exciting thing to have happened in modern history. The only problem, we cannot get near it," King explained, "whomever find a way to control, can, potentially, control the whole world."

"We thought we found a way with your father, but even though he was able to touch it without it sending him into a coma, he couldn't do much more than that," King said.

"What makes you think I can?" Barbie asked.

"Well, for starters, you did mange to escape the dome, twice, and according to everyone who escaped with you, they all said the same thing. How the great Dale Barbara touched a wall of rocks and it just collapsed. Something tells me you're special, kid," King said.

Barbie laughed, "I'm not special. The Dome did choose someone, there was someone special. But when you idiots started doing your tests on the Egg, you sentenced us to death, the Dome started collapsing on us, and you _killed_ her. You want answers? Julia had them. And now, you'll never know," Barbie said.

"I don't believe you," King argued back, "I think you know way more that you're admitting. Open the door," he ordered the guard.

The interrogator shoved Barbie through the door and quickly shut it behind him. "Now make it work," King shouted through the intercom and stood back, crossing his arms and watching Barbie.

Barbie stood still for a moment, unsure what to do next. He stared at the Egg, glowing white and screaming. He took a step forward and it's screaming seemed to lessen slightly. He had never touched the Egg before. He knew the kids did and were fine, he knew Julia did and she was… she was fine. But he had never even come close.

"Don't be scared," a voice came from across the room and Barbie's head popped up, looking towards the source of it. _Melanie._

"Don't be scared," she said again, "it's going to be okay. Just touch it. We'll protect you."

She gave him a gentle smile and disappeared. Barbie took a step towards the Egg, cautiously, then another, then another, until he was standing right next to it. The screaming stopped, as though the Egg knew he was there, as did the glowing. It faded to a calm and sat there, as though it was anticipating his touch.

His hands still cuffed, he reached over, hesitating for a moment before he touched it.

And that was when the weirdest thing happened.

Instead of glowing white, or purple or even black, the Egg turned a bright green, a split second later, everyone outside the window, everyone in the compound blacked out and the power went out, leaving Barbie the only one conscious, and the only light was that being emitted by the Egg.

Barbie was scared, he wanted to let go of it, but before he could, everything changed.

Instead of standing in a big white room, he was transported somewhere else, and what he saw sent his heart into a rapid beat, his breath became quick and shallow and soon, his legs buckled and he fell to his knees.

* * *

**What did Barbie see? What on Earth could it have been to make him react that way? All that and more in Chapter 5: Future :D**

**The more reviews you leave the quicker I'll update ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Future**

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" King yelled at the guard as he woke up and found himself lying on the floor, the lights slowly flickering back on.

"I… I don't know, sir," the guard said, "looks like it happened to everyone," he added looking down the hall to see more guards looking around in confusion and bringing themselves to their feet.

"Check on Barbara," King said, looking through the large window to see that Barbie too was lying on the ground, unconscious, and the egg still on the table where it had been. It wasn't glowing or shining anymore, though.

The guard lifted Barbie, who slowly woke up and looked around. He was back where he was and everything seemed to have returned to normal. The lights were back on and everyone was back to consciousness.

"What did you do?" King barked at him when he was out of the room.

"What? I didn't do anything!" Barbie lied, "I barely got close to it and then the blackout hit and that's the last thing I remember."

He hoped that the blackout also killed off any surveillance that was in the room and it didn't record him actually being awake during the whole thing, that he had indeed held the egg or anything that happened afterwards. Melanie had promised he would be protected.

"Take him back," King ordered the guard and strutted off in anger.

His friends immediately surrounded when he walked into the room. They had been worried about him, his safety and after hearing the news of Julia's death, his emotional and mental state. But to their surprise, he was _fine_. He seemed a little bit shaken, but not as weak and vulnerable as he had been the day before.

"Did they hurt you?" Don quickly asked to which Barbie just shook his head.

"What happened?" Joe said, "do you why there was a blackout."

"They put me in a room with the Egg," Barbie admitted, "wanted me to figure out how it works. I didn't know what to do. It was glowing and screaming, but when I walked towards it, it stopped. And then I touched it."

"And what happened?" Norrie asked.

"Well, first I think that was what caused the blackout," Barbie admitted, "and then I saw something."

"What did you see?" Joe asked.

* * *

_His hands still cuffed, he reached over, hesitating for a moment before he touched it._

_And that was when the weirdest thing happened._

_Instead of glowing white, or purple or even black, the Egg turned a bright green, a split second later, everyone outside the window, everyone in the compound blacked out and the power went out, leaving Barbie the only one conscious, and the only light was the being emitted by the Egg._

_Barbie was scared, he wanted to go of it, but before he could, everything changed._

_He was no longer standing in the middle of the big white room, instead he was standing in a big green garden, and something about it seemed familiar. He looked around him and saw a big lake and just off of it, he saw it; the lake house. It was the same lake house he grew up in as a child, the one they relocated to on weekends and holidays and summers. It was the same lake house his mother was standing next to in the picture in his father's office._

_He found himself walking closer to the house. There was something in the air; the familiarity of it, comfort, safety, home, and it drew him in. He had not visited the place in decades, and yet it smelled the same; of freshly cut grass, crisp air, cool spring water and something delicious being baked in the kitchen._

_An involuntary smile graced his lips and his legs brought him closer to the house, until he could discern a figure standing at the bottom of the steps of its front porch._

_He took a few steps closer and he saw it was a tall woman, light hair tied in a bun with her back to him._

"_Mom?" he choked out, the image of his mother waiting for him there every afternoon, once he came back from whatever adventure had occupied him the whole day, or a fishing trip with his father. She was always there when he came back, with something freshly baked and a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade or iced tea._

_His hands shook and he felt a tremble in his voice. "Mom?" he asked again._

_The woman slowly turned around and what he saw sent his heart into a rapid beat, his breath became quickly and shallow and his legs buckled, sending him to his knees._

"_Julia?" he said, the tears falling unabashedly down his cheeks. She took a step towards him and stopped. "Julia, I am so sorry. I am so so sorry," he cried, apologizing for everything, for letting her down._

"_It's ok, Barbie," she spoke softly, "I'm okay."_

_He looked up at her. She looked beautiful, radiant, so alive._

_She looked at him, her eyes gentle and so full of love. "We're waiting for you," she said, bringing her hand up to her stomach. _

_And that was when he saw it. She was pregnant._

"_You need to hurry," she said, "this is the only safe place. You need to get everyone out and come here."_

_She smiled at him tenderly, "We'll be waiting for you."_

"_You're alive?" he asked._

_She just smiled again, a smile so warm, so full of love, one that was reserved just for him. "Of course," she said, "and we are waiting for you."_

* * *

**Hey everyone! I know this is shorter than the other chapters but I just wanted it to be this because it is huge in my opinion and didn't want to add any other stuff to it so that it has the effect I how hope it has. Hope you enjoyed it and yea a lot of you guessed that he saw Julia but no one guessed he would see a pregnant Julia ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Peter**

"What happened?" Joe said, "Do you know why there was a blackout?"

"They put me in a room with the Egg," Barbie admitted, "wanted me to figure out how it works. I didn't know what to do. It was glowing and screaming, but when I walked towards it, it stopped. And then I touched it."

"And what happened?" Norrie asked.

"Well, first I think that was what caused the blackout," Barbie admitted, "and then I saw something."

"What did you see?" Joe asked.

Barbie was silent for a moment, a small smile on his lips before he said, "I saw what we should do next."

"What?" Norrie asked.

"The Egg… it showed me what we need to do next," Barbie explained.

"And what's that?" Sam asked but before Barbie could explain someone had snuck into their room.

"What the hell was that?" it was Hunter, "that blackout almost got me caught."

"Hey, you're back," Joe said. "Yeah, but what the hell was that? I was hacked in when all the power went out and I almost got caught when it came back on," Hunter said.

"It was the Egg," Norrie said, "it caused this."

"Hunter, did you find out anything?" Barbie asked, cutting to the chase.

"Yea, I did, but I have something more important to discuss," he said as he pulled his phone out. "I got an email from Julia."

Sam, Joe and Norrie all looked down, they hadn't talked about what they learned with Barbie yet. "Hunter," Norrie said sadly, "Julia's dead."

Hunter looked at her in shock, "What? No, I got this email…"

"Hunter's right," Barbie said, recovering from the slight shock he had that the others were also told about Julia, "Julia's alive."

"Barbie, what are you talking about? That guy… he told us…" Sam said, trying to be as sensitive as he could.

Barbie smiled, "I know what he said, and they told me the same thing, but the Egg, it just showed me that she's alive, that she made it out." He turned to Hunter, "Can we reply to the email she sent?"

"Yea, of course," Hunter replied.

Barbie explained the plan to the others. They were going to escape, with the Egg and go to the lake house and they needed to send an email to Julia to tell her to meet them there too.

"How are you going to escape?" Don asked, speaking up after being silent the whole time. Barbie looked at his father, silently for a moment before he said, "_We_ are going to escape. The next time they come get me, Hunter, you will hack in, put their surveillance on a loop and get everyone out of this room and out of this building. You need someone on the outside ready with a getaway car. You have anyone?" He asked.

Hunter smiled, turning to Norrie, "Carolyn's staying with me, so are Aidan, Harriet and her baby… should they go to the lake house too?" he asked.

Norrie smiled and turned to Barbie expectantly, "Yeah," Barbie confirmed, "of course."

"What about you?" Joe asked, "How will you get out?"

"I can escape," Barbie assured him, "just as long as the cameras aren't watching me."

* * *

It still felt weird have a phone again, especially that they had no one to call, so when the phone in her pocket beeped, it took Julia a moment to realize what it was. She was sitting in the passenger seat while Junior drove. Pauline was right, making some money was easier than they thought. They no longer had to worry about food or gas or affording a place to stay for the night.

Julia pulled the phone out of her pocket and smiled when she saw the email from Hunter. "They're ok," she said, "they're ok."

"Where are they?" Junior asked.

"They're in Zenith, but they will be meeting us in… a lake house," Julia said. She read the address and then checked it with the one Pauline had given them, "yeah, it's the same place Pauline told us to go to."

* * *

"Dale? Are you awake?" Don whispered. It was after midnight and for all he knew everyone in the room had gone to sleep some hours ago.

Barbie was in the bunk bed above his and he could hear him shuffling around.

"Yeah," Barbie whispered back, "everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just…" Don sat up and swung his legs to the side, peering up towards Barbie's bed, "I just wanted to say I am glad Julia's alive."

Barbie took in the sincerity in his father words; maybe his father has changed he thought. "Thanks," he replied.

"And I wanted to say thanks," Don added quietly, "for including me in your escape plans."

"You're here with us now, dad, we're not just going to leave you behind," Barbie answered logically.

"I know," Don said, "but what I am trying to say is that everything I had done, I wouldn't blame you if you did leave me behind."

Barbie nodded silently. That would have been something he would have done, before, but some things do change. And it seems that he had.

"Can I ask you something?" Don added after a few moments.

"Sure," Barbie said.

"What happened to Melanie?" Don asked.

"I'm sorry, dad," Barbie said, "I… she didn't make it. I am so sorry."

Don lay back down, silently, and then said, "it's okay. I lost her a long time ago and made my peace with that. I am just glad you got to meet her."

"Yeah," Barbie mused, "me too."

* * *

Julia and Junior checked into a hotel room for the evening, finally upgrading from the dodgy motels they'd been staying at for a week. They had two separate bedrooms and a small living space and a kitchenette. Junior went straight to bed while Julia stayed up a bit. She knew he still felt a lot of guilt but she could see how he was slowly growing more confident especially that they now had a plan and a destination.

Julia stretched her limbs and sat down on the couch. She rested her head against the back of the couch and sighed.

"Hello, Red," a voice came from across the room and her head snapped up. She knew that voice. It was Peter.

"Pe…Peter?" she stuttered in shock. It was her dead husband, standing just a few feet away from her. She knew, of course, that it wasn't really him. Like Pauline and Angie before him, he was just a messenger But why had he called her Red? That was something only Peter knew about.

"Yes," _Peter _replied.

"You're just like them, aren't you?" she said, sitting up straight, "or am I hallucinating."

"I am like them, but we are evolving," he said, moving closer to her. "At first we were just using the familiar bodies as a vessel, but now we can access their memories. We are learning."

Julia didn't know how to react to that new development. The Egg, whatever force was behind it, was now not only using the image of their deceased loved one but also accessing their memories? Something about that felt so intrusive.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"We need to talk to you, remind you how important you are," _Peter _said.

"I don't understand," Julia said.

"You are the Monarch," he said, "your job is not done yet."

Julia nodded. She still did not understand what being the Monarch entailed. They had been taking it one day at a time while under the dome, and now they had the Egg to protect. "I need to protect the Egg," she said.

_Peter _nodded, "but that's not the only thing. You'll learn more along the way," he said.

Julia fell silent for a moment. She was face to face with her dead husband, whether it was just the Egg or not, he was still standing there and she had so much to tell him.

"Peter," she said, her voice trembled and she wished the situation wasn't getting to her that much.

"I'm sorry, Julia," _Peter _said before she could say anything, "for everything. For lying to you, for the gambling, for… _everything_," he emphasized.

He _did _have Peter's memories. It wasn't a lie.

"Why?" Julia choked.

_Peter _shook his head and gave her a sad smile. "I don't have an explanation, not one that will redeem my actions. But Julia, it was _not _your fault. You did absolutely nothing wrong. It was all me."

Julia nodded, wiping a stray tear with the back of her hand. "Barbie is good guy," _Peter _added, "he's who you are supposed to with. Whether I had died or not, you and Barbie _need _to be together."

"What do you mean?" Julia asked, getting Peter's blessing for her relationship with Barbie the last thing she expected.

"The two of you, you have been chosen," he said, "You and Barbie will save the world."

She released a sob and shook her head, "What?"

_Peter _smiled, a smile she recognized well, "good luck, Red, be careful be strong, and be happy. You deserve it."

* * *

A guard walked into their room with their standard breakfast and some news. "We're giving you the day off," he said to Barbie, "but we're going to have to take you three today," he added turning to Sam, Joe and Norrie.

"That's not what we agreed on," Barbie argued.

"The last time you touched that thing, it took us half an hour to reboot the system, so you'll excuse us if we try a different tactic this time," the guard said.

"It's ok, Barbie, we'll be fine," Sam reassured him, "I stay with the kids at all times," he added as he turned to the guard, "they're both minors so unless you want to explain holding two minors hostage…"

The guard nodded, "you won't be separated, you have my word."

"Your word means nothing. We need Mr. King's word on this," Sam said.

The guard nodded and left the room. Half an hour later, King had arrived and given them his word and the three were escorted out of the room.

King and his scientists watched as Sam, Joe and Norrie took turns touching and holding the Egg. Like with Barbie, the Egg seemed to calm down at their presence. It ceased to screech and glow when they touched it or held it.

But unlike with Barbie, it did very little else. The Egg's reaction to them seemed to be the same as its reaction to Don. They could touch it without it zapping them but nothing more.

"Sir, our readings show nothing worth mentioning," one of the scientists said.

"It is doing nothing of much significance, except that it seems to… calm down," another said, not for the first time referring to it as a living thing, "What do you want us to do next?"

"Bring back Dale Barbara," King ordered coldly.

* * *

**Next chapter we find out why the title is A World on Fire! *so excited***


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Apocalypse**

"So, Hunter's going to be close by, watching what's happening in here?" Don asked Barbie, the two of them the only ones there after Sam, Joe and Norrie had been taken.

Don understood the plan well, but he was trying to keep Barbie distracted, seeing how anxious he was that the others were taken. The way his son cared for these people was truly amazing, something he never thought he would see.

"Yeah," Barbie said after a moment, "and when they tale me, he'll break you guys out," he explained, "Carolyn should be waiting outside with a car. And I will meet out there."

"How will you know when to escape?" Don asked.

"He said he will do something with the lights… make them flicker in a Morse code letting me know when to get out," Barbie said.

"And the Egg?" Don asked.

Barbie was silent for a moment, wondering if his father still had a hidden agenda, and finally said, "I have to bring it too. Everything that has happened, all the sacrifices we've made, it's been to protect it. I'm not going to stop now."

* * *

"You can sleep if you want," Julia said to Junior. It was past midnight and they were still driving towards the lake house. They had switched almost an hour ago, with Julia taking over the wheel after Junior's six hour shift. "No, I'm good," Junior replied with a friendly smile.

The phone beeped and Junior picked it up. "It's another email from Hunter," he said excitedly.

"What does it say?" Julia quickly replied.

"He's explaining their plan," Junior said, "Apparently Barbie, Sam, Joe and Norrie are being held in some secret facility."

"Are they ok?" Julia worried.

"It seems like it… He doesn't say otherwise," Junior said, "They'll break out the first chance they get."

Julia felt a slight wave of relief, but she could not help remembering the last time Barbie had been in Zenith and had been held by some secret agency. He had come back to her bruised and broken. She feared what they would be doing to him this time. She knew how stubborn he was and that would only make them treat him worse. She needs to get back to him, _quickly_. She missed him, terribly, those past few days without him had been torture, but mostly, at that moment, she feared for him, for his safety and for what they might do to him.

* * *

"Take them back and bring Barbara," King ordered one of the guards and huffed in frustration. This was not going according to plan.

"Sir, are you sure?" one of the scientists turned to him and asked, "what if the events of last time repeat themselves?"

"That's a risk I am willing to take," King replied.

"But sir, we still haven't fully assessed the events of last time," the scientist argued, "I don't think it's wise to…"

King cut the man off before he could continue, "your job isn't to think, your job is to do what I tell you to do," he fumed.

* * *

A guard opened the cell door and let Sam, Joe and Norrie in. "Are you guys ok?" Barbie quickly asked. The three nodded, "we're fine," Joe confirmed.

"Mr. Barbara, will you come with me, please," the guard asked, looking towards Barbie.

Barbie took a deep breath and turned to him, "sure, but will you just give us a minute, in private?" he asked.

The guard hesitated a moment, "I don't know if I…" he said.

"Please, we've been cooperative, just one minute," Barbie insisted and the guard nodded and stepped out.

"Ok, you guys know what to do, yes?" he asked and they all nodded, "I'll see you in a bit," he added as he approached the door. He turned to knock on it to call the guard when Norrie shocked him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

"Be careful," she said, causing him to smile. He gave her a gentle squeeze and pulled back. "I will," he promised, "you be careful, too."

* * *

Barbie followed the guard silently, his hands cuffed, a slight annoyance, he thought with regards to the planned escape. They reached the room with the Egg and Barbie was surprised to see that there was no one waiting for them there, not King nor any of his scientists.

"What? No audience today?" he asked the guard.

"Following what happened last time, when everyone got knocked out, Mr. King decided it would be wiser to keep a distance," the guard said, "don't get too excited though, they're watching on the cameras."

They stop at the door and the guard unlocks it. Barbie puts his hands out, hoping to be uncuffed but the guard shakes his head, "I'm sorry, orders are to not take those off. You can still touch the Egg with your hands cuffed," the guard explains.

Barbie walked in slowly, hearing the heavy metal door shut loudly behind him. Like the previous time, the Egg sat in the middle of the room, glowing brightly and screaming.

He walked towards it slowly. The plan was for him to touch it and hopefully cause another blackout, allowing them to escape. But secretly, he also hoped for another vision, another chance to see Julia, even if it wasn't real. He missed her _so _much. Those past few nights spent without her, the last few days spent without her by his side had been torture. He stood in front of the Egg and closed his eyes. _Please, _he whispered, urging the Egg not to let him down. It was their only chance. He reached over and held it between his palms.

The glowing faded out. The screaming stopped. And the power went out.

He sighed in relief, taking a moment to relax before it happened. Again. The Egg turned green and again he was transported back to the lake house. He looked around expectantly, hoping to see Julia, and he wasn't disappointed. She was standing just a short distance away from him. But she wasn't alone. Beside her saw Joe and Norrie, he saw Junior and Sam, and they were all looking at something in the distance.

"It's happening," it was Junior's voice, "Lyle was right."

Barbie turned towards what they were looking at. And he saw it. The world was on fire, all around them, in every direction.

Barbie's eyes widened in shock and fear. The fires were getting closer. "We need to get out of here," he warned, for a moment forgetting all this was not real.

"No, it's ok," he heard Joe speak calmly, "we're safe here," he added, turning to Barbie with a confident smile on his face.

Before he could ask why, the Egg induced world around him began to fall apart and he was back in the cell. He took a moment to catch his breath. They needed to get to the lake house. _Quickly._

"You don't have much time," he heard a voice speak and he looked up to see _Melanie._

He just nodded, hoping the others were already in the getaway car. _Safe._

He turned to make his own escape. The power would come back soon and he was running out of time. He took a step towards the door and stopped. He turned around slowly, "Melanie," he said, and she stared at him in silence, "I know it's not really you, but for what it's worth… I'm sorry," he choked, "I'm sorry I couldn't keep you safe."

_Melanie _smiled, not the cold smile she had been smiling, but a genuine smile, "It's okay, I wasn't supposed to stay… I wasn't supposed to be alive. My job was just to help you find your way out," she said.

Barbie gave her a small smile and nodded, "Now, go!" she told him and disappeared.

Barbie rushed towards the door, the light from the Egg the only thing guiding him. He put the Egg down for a moment and reached for the door handle.

_But there wasn't one._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Redemption**

Hunter kept a very close look at everything that was happening inside the compound, and when he saw the power go out, he got to work. Unlike everyone else inside, he still had eyes on what was happening, and within minutes he had made his way towards their cell.

"Come on, guys, let's go," he announced as he quickly unlocked the door and opened it wide.

"Alright, let's do this," Sam said, ushering Joe and Norrie ahead of him. Joe took Norrie's, squeezing it gently, reassuringly and she gave him a confident smile. This was actually going to work.

They ran down the dark hallways, led by Hunter and his flashlight. They made it out just in time, moments before the lights came back on. Outside, Carolyn was waiting for them in a truck, with Harriet, Alice and Aidan, while Hunter had another smaller car parked down the street.

The got divided into the two vehicles and waited. They waited for Barbie. And they waited.

He was supposed to meet them straight away. But it was almost ten minutes and there was no sign of him.

"What's going on? Where is he?" Don asks anxiously.

Hunter checks the surveillance videos, trying to find out where Barbie was. "I'm looking, I'm looking," Hunter mumbled as he quickly scanned the feeds.

"Faster, Hunter," Sam said.

"Got him! Got him!" Hunter exclaimed.

"Where is he?" Don asked.

"Shit…" Hunter said.

"What is it?" Don asked.

"He's stuck," Hunter replied, "and the guards are waking up."

* * *

Barbie kept kicking at the metal door, something he knew was futile because he knew the door opened inwards. But it was his only option. So he kept doing it, madly. _He had to get out._

His hands were still cuffed and the Egg was nestled in his palms safely. He looked out the big window and saw the Guard starting to wake up. And with that, he started to feel the last shreds of hope escape him. _He was not getting out._

He stepped back, determined to at least fight back when the guard opens the door. He took a deep breath and waited. And then he heard it; a loud heavy _THUD._

Barbie held his breath, in anticipation, in worry, he wasn't sure. He braced himself for whoever was going to come through that door. He heard the jnagles of key, and then the door swung open.

"Dad!" Barbie had never been happy to see his father. Right then, he was ecstatic.

"Come on, son, we have to go!" Don said, quickly uncuffing Barbie and letting him get out before him. With the Egg held securely in his right hand, Barbie stepped out and grabbed the unconscious guard's gun. He looked behind him, gave his father a nod and together they sprinted down the corridor.

* * *

With only a few hundred kilometers left between them and their destination, Julia and Junior were starting to feel relieved, as though their weeks of hardships were getting to an end. And with that, Julia found herself falling asleep for the first time s Junior took the wheel.

Julia was enjoying one of the most restful sleeps she had had in weeks. Her head rested against the window as Junior drove smoothly through the quiet roads. The car was quiet when Julia suddenly jerked her head up and gasped loudly.

Junior's head swiftly turned towards her in fear and panic, "Are you okay?" he asked, the worry evident in his voice.

Julia's eyes were wide in shock, disbelief, and it took her a moment to adjust, to remember where she was and what she was doing. Her breathing came fast, unsteady, and her chest rose unevenly. Something had just shaken her to the core. "Julia?" she heard her name being softly spoken, laced with concern. She turned to her left, to where the voice came from and she saw Junior Rennie. And it all came back to her.

She felt her breathing start to settle, her heart beat slow down and she was able to let out a heavy breath. "Junior…" she said.

"Are you okay? What happened?" he asked her, taking his eyes off the road for a moment.

"I'm… fine… I think," she said, "I had this… very weird dream."

"Wanna talk about it?" Junior asked, genuinely concerned.

Julia took a moment, and then nodded. She looked up to start speaking when something appeared on the road ahead of them, "JUNIOR!" she cried, and the young man managed to swerve just in time.

Junior hit the brakes and looked behind him. He was sure the figure on the street was… _Angie? _He looked back to check the road when he saw her there, in their back seat.

"Jesus!" he said.

"Hi guys," _Angie _said, "I just needed to tell you that you need to hurry up, you're running out of time."

"Oh, really? And you couldn't have done that without almost killing us?!" Junior ranted at the Egg's messenger.

"Sorry," _Angie _said, "Now, go!"

Junior and Julia sat in the car for a moment, catching their breath. "Let's go," Julia finally said. Junior just nodded, putting the car in gear, they were yet again on the their way.

* * *

Barbie and Don ran down the corridors. The power was back on and they had to hurry. Barbie ran ahead of his father, the Egg in one hand and the gun in the other. "Is everyone out?" Barbie asked.

"Yes, they're all out," Don reassured him.

They turned the last corner before the exit when a voice came echoing through the corridor. "BARBARAAAAA!" it was John King.

Don turned out to look at his old friend, one last time. "John, don't," Barbie heard his father say before a deafening bang rang through his ears. Time stopped at that moment. Barbie felt the halls around him spinning as he turned around and saw his father's body hit the ground. _With a bullet hole in his chest._

"No," Barbie said, not recognizing his own voice, he went down on his knees, next to his father, "NO!" he yelled out, pointing his gun up, he aimed it at King. Three shots later, King's dead body fell onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Barbie pressed against the wound on his father's chest. "Dad, stay with me," he said, ignoring the tears that spilled down his cheeks, his own voice choking him painfully.

"Dale, son, you have to go," Don said, his words struggling to leave his lips as he coughed out blood.

"No, dad, please," Barbie cried, "no."

"Dale, I'm sorry, for everything, _for everything_," Don said, "you have to go, son, I just need you to know," Don struggled to say, his life force leaving him quicker than his words, "I am _so _proud of you. _So goddamn proud of you_. I am sorry, for everything."

And with that Don Barbara closed his eyes, one last time.

* * *

**Hey guys, two things. One, sorry for the delay in updates. Crazy crazy couple of weeks. Also sorry these have been shorter but wit the more action-y stuff, I just can't find myself writing longer ones because cliffhangers ROCK! Anyway, I hope you're still enjoying this. We're halfway done! *sniff***


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Reunion**

Barbie stood up slowly, his knees weak, his hands shaking. _His father was dead. _Blood covered his hands and shirt and it was suddenly impossibly hard to breathe. _His father was dead._ This thumping in his ears was deafening and somewhere his brain was yelling at him to run. Slowly, that voice was getting louder, and even louder when he could hear the rushing footsteps of the guards running in his direction.

In that moment, his instinct hit and he sprinted towards the exit, leaving his father's body lying unceremoniously on the vinyl covered floor of this Godforsaken place. His trembling legs somehow managed to carry him swiftly outside the building where Hunter and Sam were waiting for him. They straightened when they saw him step out and for a brief moment they looked behind him for Don, but the look on Barbie's face, his blood stained clothes told them all they needed to know. The three of them started running towards Hunter's car, solemnly, wordlessly.

They got in the car and Sam answered Barbie's unspoken question immediately, "Norrie and Joe are with Carolyn in that truck just ahead of us," he reassured him as Hunter sped down the road, "so are Aidan, Harriet and the baby."

It took Barbie a moment to remember who the others are, his mind currently preoccupied with other things, but he was relieved if anything, for Julia's sake. She cared for them.

They drove quickly, silently, and Hunter soon took over the lead from Carolyn, signaling for her to follow him. _Smart, _Barbie thought. Hunter was not going to take the main roads towards the lake house, make sure they are not being followed. Barbie dropped his head against the back of the seat and sighed. He closed his eyes shut and his breath came out in stuttered, pained huffs. He had not said a single word since he came rushing out of the building. Sam turned around and looked at him. His hands sat in his lap, covered in blood, and still shaking.

"Barbie?" Sam said his name and his head snapped up, a soldier on the field again, his eyes focused, quickly scanning their surroundings. "Barbie," Sam said calmly, trying to get Barbie to relax, "are you okay?"

Barbie took a moment and then nodded, slowly at first and then a bit more confidently. He looked down at his hands, they were steadier but still covered in blood and he suddenly felt sick. He started wiping his hands against his jeans, trying to remove the drying blood off his skin. He felt the nausea in him quickly being replaced by anger. He turned in his seat and punched the back of the seat, once, twice, three times.

"Hey, hey, Barbie," Sam said, his voice rising slightly to get the attention of the man in the back seat, "hey, we got a text from Julia."

The sound of her name snapped him back from his rage. Just her name somehow managed to calm him down slightly. It did something to him that even he did not understand.

"Is… is she okay?" Barbie said, his first words since their escape.

"Yes," Sam said, "they're about two hours out."

Barbie sighed, relieved. He felt his heart rate settle down and he willed himself to focus on her, to forget everything else. "Can… can we call them?" he asked.

"Sorry, man," Hunter said apologetically, "I took my phone apart before we left, just in case they were tracking it. Can't risk them following us."

Barbie nodded. He knew it was the smart thing to do, even if it was killing her. He was going to see her very shortly but he still ached to hear her voice.

* * *

"Take this road right here, on your left," Barbie instructed Hunter as they reached the last stretch before the Barbara family lake house. Of course, it wasn't just a simple lake house. Like all things in the Barbara family, it was lavish, extravagant, surrounded by fertile land and guarded by a protective fence and alarm system. And, naturally, one got in through a gate that required a sixteen-digit security code.

They finally reached the house and everyone stepped out of the vehicles, greeting, hugging in relief. Joe looked at Barbie, saw the blood on his clothes and noticed Don was nowhere to be seen. He stepped towards him but was pulled back by a hand on his shoulder. It was Sam. "Not now," Sam said, "I don't think he's ready."

"What happened?" Joe asked.

"Don went in after Barbie… he didn't make it," Sam explained.

Barbie ignored the sympathetic looks he was getting and spoke up instead. "We need to split up," he said, "a group goes out and gets supplies. All kinds of supplies. I don't know how long we will be staying here, but we will need _everything._ And a group needs to stay here. There's a generator we need to make sure is working, a water tank… But the supply run is the most important."

"We cannot go back to Zenith," Hunter said.

"No, we can't but there's a town a few miles North where we will be able to find everything we need." Barbie said.

"I'll take the truck and go," Carolyn offered, "the money the government gave us should be enough."

"I'm going with you," Norrie said.

"Norrie, sweetheart, you've been through a lot, why don't you stay here?" Carolyn said gently.

"No, mom, I'm not leaving you anymore," Norrie insisted.

"I'm going, too," Joe said.

Barbie nodded. It was fine. There was little chance that anyone was looking for them a couple of towns away from Zenith and he was not going to tell a mother and daughter they had to be separated. Since he knew the area better, Hunter joined them, while Sam and Barbie stayed at the lake house to make sure everything was in order and help Harriet and her baby settle in first.

The lake house was big enough, with enough bedrooms, guest rooms and spare rooms to house everyone. And Barbie and Sam busied themselves getting everything set and ready. It was good to keep their minds off the group that had gone on the supply run and off Junior and Julia for the moment. Sitting and worrying would do no one any good.

* * *

They had been at the lake house almost two hours. Barbie had watched away the blood from his hands and arms but still wore the stained shirt and jeans. He didn't have much of a choice. Harriet and the baby had settled down in one of the rooms and were resting. Sam and Aidan sat on the front porch going through boxes, separating the useful from the useless. They had found a good supply of candles, matches, batteries and flashlights.

Barbie walked around the house, rediscovering it after years of absence. There were so many memories. Some pleasant, some painful. He stood in front of the mantle for what seemed like hours, studying the framed pictures that sat there. He grabbed one and pulled the photograph out of the frame and studied it carefully. It was a picture of the three of them, his mother, his father and himself; during the last summer he had spent with them in the lake house. He was fourteen and in that moment, he regretted every summer after that which he did not spend with them. He had been so stupid, so stubborn.

He was lost in the moment when he heard Sam's voice bellow from the front porch. "BARBIE! BARBIE, THEY'RE HERE!"

He didn't need any further explanation. He knew who _they _were. Junior and _Julia._

He ran towards the front door, as fast as his legs could take him, knocking down a small side table on his way. He leapt across the porch and down the few stairs and suddenly he stopped. Losing control over his legs, his heart beating madly in his chest, he looked up, and there she was, just a few meters away and his eyesight became blurry, shrouded by unshed tears. She was standing right there.

He took a deep breath and willed his legs to start working again, one sure step after another and then _she _was sprinting towards him. She was still limping, he could tell, but somehow, she was running more confidently than he was walking until his confidence sent pace into his legs and he ran the last few steps towards her. And they collided. Their bodies came together like two ends of a magnet, arms wrapped around each other, holding on to everything and anything. His hands found her hair, got lost in the auburn curls. They found her back, roamed the familiar curves. They found the back of her head, pressed her closer even and he felt her tears against his neck.

She grabbed on to him with all her might, dreading it being a dream she might wake up from, she clung on to him tightly, her nimble fingers finding the back of his head, holding on to his short hair, her hands travelling along his back, finding safety and comfort in the familiar taught muscles and wide shoulders. She buried her face in his neck and when she found his scent, she remembered how to breathe.

He pulled back; his hands cupped her face and his finger trailed down her flush cheeks, wiping the tears that drew a trail along her face. She took her hands in her, clasped them between their chests, and leaned forward; pressing kisses against his cheeks, kissing away the tears that flood his face. She rested her forehead against his and dropped their hands. She felt his arms snake around her waist and pull her closer, leaving no gap between them, he closed his eyes and breathed her in.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips before closing the gap, losing himself in her kiss.

* * *

They all sat on the front porch, waiting for the rest of the group to return. It was almost dark and they needed to be back very soon. They'd told each other everything that had happened to them. Well, almost everything. Barbie had kept out the part in his vision about Julia, and she in turn had kept out the dream she'd had just hours before.

There will be time for that later, when they're _alone._

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked him quietly. He'd just told her what had happened with his father and even though she knew they were not on the best of terms, losing a parent in that manner was not easy.

He sat silently for a moment, and then turned to meet her gaze, warm, loving and understanding. "I've hated my father for as long as I can remember," he said, "I never thought… I'd never thought of how it would be to lose him. But we were just starting to… talk in a civil way to each other and…"

He looked away for a moment, and she waited for him. She would always wait for as long as he needed her to. She took his hand in hers and wove their fingers together, never not amazed at how perfectly they fit. She squeezed his hand softly and he smiled at her. "He saved my life. He didn't have to, but he did," he said, "and now he's gone, and I can never pay him back."

She stroked his face gently and smiled at him. "I don't think he did it because he expected you to pay him back," she said, "he did it because he was your father, because he loved you, even if it was never clear."

He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes, "Thank you," he whispered, "thank you."

He finally pulled back, looking at her solemnly, "Julia… I…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the truck came into view.

"They're back!" Aidan leapt off the stair in excitement.

Carolyn put the truck in park and the passengers hopped off, all looking especially proud. It must have been a successful trip.

"Okay, before you say anything, hear us out," Joe said before the others could walk towards the back of the truck.

"What's going on?" Sam asked as he tried to take a peak.

"We got propane, water, food, medical supplies, clothes," Hunter explained, "all your typical survival supply needs… guns and ammo even… and then Joe suggested something."

"What did you get?" Julia asked.

"A cow, some chickens…" Joe said, "I'm a farm boy and _this_ makes sense. If like Barbie said, we're gonna stay here a while…"

* * *

That evening, the group had a feast. They celebrated. Even though they had lost so many along the way, they had made it. They were safe, they were together, and they deserved it. They ate heartily, drank and laughed. All the pain of the last weeks was forgotten, the worry, uneasiness and uncertainty of the future put aside for a moment as they enjoyed being alive and safe.

It was late when they each made their way to their designated rooms. Barbie was the last up, after checking on all the security systems, locking the doors and windows and making sure each room had one person with a weapon. He made it to their room just as Julia was walking out of the shower, wrapped in a white towel, skin pink and glistening.

"Hey," she said, teasingly as she took in his slack jaw and widened eyes. He stepped closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a soft kiss against his lips. He moved to untie the knot on her towel but she stepped back. "You could use a shower," she said playfully. He groaned dramatically. But she was right. He could not remember the last time he took a shower. But as much as he needed that, he needed something else much more.

"Do you want to join me?" he said, winking at her, trying to pull her towards him. "But I just took a shower," she said, giggling slightly. The wine from his father's cellar was better than the one they shared in the cement factory. He pulled at her arm, bringing him flush against him and this time she didn't have time to react before he undid her towel. "I think you missed a spot on your back," he whispered huskily, his lips finding her neck and that one spot and made her lose control. He pulled her into the steamed bathroom with him, and she was no longer protesting his plans.

* * *

They lay in bed together, it was almost morning but they had not had any sleep yet. She lay with her head on his chest and their legs entangled with the messy body covers. "Are you awake?" he asked her and she nodded. "I need to tell you something," he said.

She looked up at him, "everything okay?" she asked and he smiled. "Yes, just something that I didn't want to share with everyone else," he explained.

"What's going on?" she asked, propping herself up slightly to meet his gaze.

"When I touched the Egg, it showed me more than just the lake house, that we will be safe here," he said.

"What did it show you?" she asked.

He told her about the vision, about seeing her pregnant and how real it all felt.

Julia kept quiet as he told his story and when he was done, he looked at her waiting for her reaction, but she still said nothing.

She just smiled.

"What?" he asked, "you're freaking me out…"

"The thing is… I had a vision too," she said, "a dream, actually… but it felt so… _real."_

"What did you see?" he asked as he sat up straighter, bringing her up with him.

"I saw you, here at the lake house, carrying a girl on your shoulders. She was _our _daughter. I didn't know how I knew, but I just… _knew,"_ she said and he saw her eyes start welling up with unshed tears.

"Hey," he whispered, brushing the tears away. He wasn't sure how she felt about it. He knew he was excited about it but she didn't seem to share that excitement. It broke his heart.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I don't know why I'm crying."

"It's okay," he said, "we've never _really _spoken about this… and just because we both had a _vision _doesn't mean it has to hap-"

She cut him off, rising up to sit in his lap, "No, Barbie, I _want _this… I've never wanted anything more. That's why I'm crying… I'm sorry, I never thought I was one of those women who cried at the thought of having a child."

He breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted this as much as he did. He pulled her to him and wrapped her in his arms.

They fell asleep like that, in each other's arms, both dreaming of the child they might have some day.

* * *

The sun was starting to sneak into their bedroom when Barbie woke up. He smiled as he felt Julia's warm breath against his skin, her sleeping body still wrapped around his. He leaned down and planted a kiss against her forehead.

He was about to pull her off him when he felt a slight shake, a shudder in the ground. A few moments passed and then another, stronger one hit. That one woke Julia up. They both jumped off the bed and grabbed their clothes.

After another couple of minutes an even harder one hit that woke up the rest of the house. They hurried out of their bedroom and met everyone outside.

"What's going on?!" Carolyn asked.

They all made their way downstairs as yet another quake hit, strong even this time.

By the time the last one hit, they were all standing outside. The last quake was fierce and it brought with it a deafening crashing sound.

_BOOM!_

They were all very familiar with that sound. They had heard it just over a month ago. They had heard it in Chester's Mill. They had heard it when the Dome came down.

When the dust settled, they looked around them and realized it. They were, once again, under the dome.

* * *

**AN: **So this was supposed to be two chapters, but because everyone has been asking for Julia and Barbie to reunite, I reworked the outline to have them reunite now. I hope it's what you all expected and not a let down. Have a great weekend everyone and I do not say this enough, but thank you all so so so much for reading and reviewing and your continuous support and encouragement.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Under the Dome**

Joe was the first one to step forward, towards the new dome. He touched it, tentatively, pulling back when it zapped him. Just like it did the first time. Slowly, one by one, they stepped forwards, lined up next to it and touched it, making sure it was real.

Barbie stood back and watched as the scene before him unfolded. And in that moment, he understood his vision; he understood all of _Melanie's _warnings. The Dome was protecting, this time from something horrible that would be happening to the rest of the world.

"I can't believe this! Another dome? One wasn't enough?" Norrie said, her rant mirroring what everyone else was thinking.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Harriet mumbled, holding baby Alice closer against her chest.

* * *

They spent the day trying to come to terms with their new situation, exploring the new dome and how much area it covered. Barbie retold them his second vision, the details of which had become clearer. And they slowly began to accept that they were safe under this new Dome. They spent hours going over their supplies, planning how to deal with it, considering they did not know how long this was going to take. If things went well, according to plan, and it was… _normal_, they will be able to survive for a decent period of time. It was terrifying, but more terrifying was what could be happening to the rest of the world.

* * *

It was early in the evening, their anxieties settled, they gathered in the living room.

"I can't believe Lyle was right," Junior mumbled, "he said this will happen."

"He was one of the hands, so his visions must have meant something," Joe said.

"Like Pauline, and her drawings," Sam added.

"What about our vision?" Norrie chimed in, "that didn't happen."

"What vision?" Julia asked.

Norrie looked to Joe and Junior, but when neither of them spoke up, she explained, "We saw that we killed Big Jim." She looked towards Junior sadly. He had his head dropped, the sadness evident on his face.

"When did you see that?" Julia asked, "why didn't you tell us about it?"

"We… we weren't gonna do it," Joe said, "we decided not to tell anyone about it. And now it doesn't matter. It's not like anyone one of us is going to do it now."

Everyone was silent for a moment until Junior finally spoke up, "it already happened," he whispered.

"What?" Sam asked in shock.

Junior locked his father's gaze for a moment before looking back down at the ground, "I shot him and then I cut the ladder leading down to the tunnels. His stuck in Chester's Mill…. I killed my father."

* * *

"Hunter?" Barbie turned to the young man as the group still sat together later in the evening. "Do we have any Internet access?"

In the chaos and panic of the day, they had failed to check just that. "I don't know, actually, let me check," Hunter said as he got up and grabbed his laptop. "We do… we have Internet access."

A collective sigh of relief rose through the room. "What are they saying about our escape?" Sam asked, "and do they know about the new dome?"

They spent the next hour or so searching for any mention of their escape. There was nothing official but over hundreds and hundreds of conspiracy theories. Some of them were ridiculous while others bordered on the truth. No one was mentioning their new dome though, which was comforting for now.

"My parents are still out there," Joe said after a long period of silence, "if what you're saying is right, it means they're going to die out there," he said to Barbie.

"You don't know that for sure," Norrie comforted him.

"Why don't you get in touch with them," Barbie suggested, "let them know you're okay and tell them to find some place safe."

"Ok," Joe nodded, "thanks."

* * *

Barbie checked the doors and the windows, making sure everything was locked and secure, even though a part of him told him it was unnecessary. But it was him, and he just had to do it. He walked up the stairs to their bedroom, glad that the long, strange day had finally come to an end. All he wanted to do was go to bed, hold Julia in his arms and fall asleep. All he wanted was to forget and relax.

He opened the door gently and walked through the dimly lit room. Julia was already in bed, with a single side lamp lit and a book on her lap.

"You guys have a great library in this place," she said and he smiled. His mother always prided herself on the vast library she had built. He walked closer to her, standing at the edge of the bed, he bent down and kissed her exposed shoulder as he checked out the book she had chosen. "I'm gonna take a shower," he said as he headed towards the bathroom. "Don't take too long," she replied sweetly.

He smiled at her over his shoulder and nodded. He had every intention to come back as quickly as possible.

* * *

He crawled into bed with her and she instinctually molded into his side. With the book left abandoned on the nightstand, she curled into him and he wrapped his arms securely around her. She rested her head against his chest just as his fingers found her curls, drowning in their warmth. "Are you ok?" he whispered against her skin and she sighed heavily. "No, not really," she mumbled. He pulled her tighter and she sat silently for a moment. "It's just that… I cant believe this is happening again. We already did this," she said, "we already did our shift under a dome."

"I know… I know," Barbie said, "but I truly believe now, like you always did, that it's here to protect us. And we don't need to worry; with the supplies we have, with the provisions and the plan we devised… we _can _survive. We don't need to worry." He spoke with a confidence he didn't know he possessed, his voice strong and comforting. From her position on his chest, she looked up at him, big bright blue eyes searching his, pleading with him for something, _anything. _He brought a hand up to her cheek, his thumb pressing against her skin, tracing a soothing pattern. He bent down slightly and placed his lips on her forehead, trailing down, he planted gentle kisses against both eye lids, the tip of her nose before capturing her lips in a slow, soft kiss; a kiss that made her forget everything except him, except _them. _"We're gonna be ok," he vowed as he pulled back, "we're gonna be ok."

She kissed his cheek and rested back against his chest. "I just feel so bad for Joe… his parents," she said.

"I know," Barbie said, "but he got through to them, talked to them, told them he's ok and made sure to let them know that they needed to find shelter."

She nodded, "yeah, that was good. He's such a good kid, so young and already he's had to go through so much. They all have."

* * *

They fell asleep like that, holding each other, comforting each other. This time when hey woke up, it was because something else, another unnatural thing, woke them up. The Egg, which they had been keeping safely in their room, suddenly started shaking, shaking aggressively and glowing. The shaking was violent, shaking the rest of the room with it and the bright red and orange glow was hot, blinding and _ominous._

**AN: I am so beyond sorry that this s delayed, but I had so much trouble writing it and as you can see it's pretty much a crappy filler. I promise to do better next time.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: A World on Fire**

She woke up to find herself alone in bed. After the few days they had had, she wasn't shocked that she slept in, or failed to notice when he had woken up. She dropped her hand against his pillow. Cold. He had been up for a while. She grabbed his shirt from the edge of the bed and threw it on over her shorts. She made her way through the quiet house, the smell of something delicious pulling her towards the kitchen. Everyone else was still asleep it seemed.

She found him in the kitchen, the reason behind that delicious smell were the pancakes he was making. She watched with a wide smile for a few minutes as he made his way around the kitchen. There was something especially hot about this man making breakfast. She bit her lip and spoke softly, "you can cook," she said and he turned around to find her leaning against one of the stools. Her hair was tousled, cheeks pink and she was biting her lip. Wearing his shirt and a pair of shorts, he was mesmerized. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I told you, I worked as a line cook," he said with a smile.

She laughed and leaned up to kiss his jaw. "You're up early," she said, "why didn't you wake me up?"

He brought his thumb up to her cheek and gently brushed her skin. "It's been a rough couple of days, you deserve to sleep in," he said.

She saw Alice sleeping in her chair in the living room, "is Harriet up?" she asked.

"She was, but Alice then fell back asleep so I told her I'd watch the baby while she caught up on some sleep," he shrugged, failing to notice just how that confession sent Julia's heart racing. She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around him. "Are you practicing?" she asked bashfully, ducking her head. He smiled and lifted her chin to meet his gaze, "I just never thought I'd… having children was never something I thought about," he confessed.

"Me neither," she said softly.

He cocked his head, "Really? Not even with Peter?" he asked.

"No… we never really talked about it before we got married and then we just drifted apart… having a baby was never something that came up," she admitted. "What about you? Why'd you never considered it before?"

He chuckled and pulled back slightly, "I've never called a woman back for a second date, let alone reached the _let's talk about children _phase in a relationship."

She smiled but then suddenly pulled back, a small frown on her face, "interesting you should bring that up," she said, and he raised an eyebrow, somewhat confused. "The whole date thing," she said, "you do realize you haven't even asked me out on a first date, and here we are talking about babies," she teased and bit her lip playfully.

"Is that so?" he asked, feigning shock. "It is, Mr. Barbara… I thought you were a gentleman. Looks like I was quite mistaken," she pouted.

She smirked mischievously and reached for her, his arms snaking around her waist and pulled her towards him, molding her body against his. "Well, maybe I should ask you out," he said and she nodded, her cheeks red, the proximity of their bodies rendering her speechless. She nodded, and he brought his lips against her ear, his breath warm against her skin, "… soon."

* * *

_3 Days Earlier_

The Egg was shaking; shaking aggressively and glowing blindingly. The shaking was violent, shaking the rest of the room with it and the bright red and orange glow was hot, blinding and _ominous._

They got up and rushed out. Julia carried the Egg, hoping it would calm it down, but it did nothing. They ran towards the edge of the dome and what they saw startled them. The world outside was on fire. Flames were spreading in every direction. Balls of fire and heat were raining from the sky, crashing into the earth, leaving nothing in their wake.

_Lyle was right._

* * *

They huddled around Hunter's computer, watching and reading the news from all over the world. They were calling it the end of days. And from the looks of it, it was. It was happening all over the world. No one was being spared. Mayhem and chaos, disorder and pandemonium. Misery. Hopelessness. Death.

_It was the end of the world._

But it wasn't. They were safe. They were alive. They were going to survive.

It didn't take long for the guilt to hit. Why them? Why did they deserve to survive this and not the others?

* * *

She finds him upstairs. He had missed dinner and even though the guilt was ripping them all apart, she knew he was feeling especially bad. She sat down next to him on the edge of the bed, her fingers finding the back of his neck. "Are you ok?" she whispered and he looked up at her, smiling sweetly. "Not really," he replied and her thumb ran across his skin.

She sat quietly, waiting for him to open up. He shook his head and spoke, "why do we deserve to live while all these people are dying?" he said. "why do _I _deserve to live? I'm not a good person. I don't-" she cut him off then, her eyes wide, her head shaking left and right, "don't say that, don't you ever say that," she said

She twisted around so that she was facing him. She took his face in her hands, his beard rough against her skin, "you deserve to live and you are a good person! Don't you ever say that," she insisted. He gave her a small smile and leaned in, resting his forehead against hers. He wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe in himself the way she believed in him. But for now, it was important that she did.

"Thank you," he whispered.

* * *

It was after midnight when Barbie walked through the empty house towards the kitchen for a glass of water. He felt someone behind him and turned around swiftly. He gasped in shock at what he saw. _Who _he saw.

"Dad?" Barbie asked.

"Hello, Dale," the figure said as it walked closer to him.

"How… How are you here?" Barbie asked.

"You know how," _Don _said.

The Egg.

"What… What are you doing here?" Barbie asked, leaning back against the counter, grabbing the edge tightly.

"We need to check up on you," _Don _said, "and _I_ need to tell you something."

"Are you doing this?" Barbie asked, pointing out the window. To the world outside the Dome.

"We're not causing it. No. If that's what you're asking, but mankind are being punished by a great force beyond their control," _Don _said.

"But you knew it was going to happen," Barbie stated.

_Don _nodded.

Barbie's nose flared in anger, "then how can you let all those people die! If you knew it was going to happen then why didn't you do anything to save them!?"

"We cant save everyone. We tried our best to save as many as we can," _Don _explained.

"Ten people! That's all you managed to save?" Barbie bit out angrily.

_Don_ shook his head, "you're not alone, Dale, there are other communities like you."

Barbie frowned, "what are you talking about?"

"Your dome is one of several across your planet that we have brought to save as many as we could," _Don _said.

"There… there are others?" Barbie asked.

_Don _nodded, "we are not monsters… we are trying our best. The Dome is here to protect you, so that you may rebuild your world when this is over."

Barbie eyed him incredulously. This was all a little too far fetched.

"Who are you?" He asked. "It doesn't matter," _Don _replied, "it only matters who _you_ are."

"What do you mean?" Barbie asked.

"This all started a long time ago," _Don _explained, "you were all chosen for a reason, for who you are, for what you are capable of. The four hands, the monarchs… it wasn't random. For generations, we have been monitoring the population of this planet. It took us a long time to find the right people."

Barbie shook his head and chuckled. None of this made any sense. _He _wasn't a good person.

_Don _smiled, "your generation of the _hands _weren't the first," _Don _said.

"I know, Sam, Melanie, Pauline and Lyle were the first," Barbie said.

"No they weren't. In fact, they were the second. There were four other hands before them," _Don _explained, "your father was one, so was your mother, and Melanie's mother."

Barbie looked up, frowning, "No, my parents were never in Chester's Mill," he argued.

"That's not true. Why do you think your father was able to touch the Egg without it hurting him? We found out a long time ago that certain genetic traits were necessary which made our selection of candidates more scientific. Your parents first met when they were teenagers in Chester's Mill but it was only brief, so we had to wait a long time to put our plan into action. You being in Chester's Mill when the dome came down was not a coincidence," _Don _said.

Barbie looked out the window, at the faint red orange glow in the distance. For a long time he said nothing.

"What now?" he finally said.

"Now, you wait this out," _Don _explained.

"And then?"

"And then, you rebuild humanity."

Barbie stared at the figure before him for a long time. A question begging to be asked clouding his thoughts.

"Are Julia and I going to have a baby?" he finally asked.

_Don _smiled, "she'll be the humanity's salvation."

* * *

**There is absolutely no convincing reason why this took forever for me to update, honestly. So I apologise so so so so much and I understand if no one is interested in this anymore, but for what it's worth, here it is. Hope you enjoy it!**


	12. Chapter 12

Hello everyone! I am so sorry I've left this without updating for such a long time but for the past 9 months I have been working on starting and launching my own business and that has been extremely hard and time consuming. I never forget about this fic though, and never planned on abandoning it, and with season 3 just around the corner, I think it's time I came back to it and finished it.

* * *

**Chapter 12: A New World**

_One Year Later_

Norrie rested her chin on Joe's shoulder, peeking over it to watch as Joe and Hunter spent another afternoon trying to make contact with the outside world. The Dome - through Don - had told them they weren't the only ones, but so far, for almost a year, they had not managed to make contact with anyone. No one was saying it out loud, but they were starting to fear it wasn't true. "Anything?" Norris mumbled.

"Nope, still nothing," Joe said, turning his head just slightly to give his girlfriend a half smile.

"Well, I'm it won't be too long now," she said, "anyway now, right?"

She got up, not waiting for an answer and made her way outside. She stepped onto the porch where Harriet sat as she watched Alice take awkward steps across the yard. She looked out at their _world_ under the dome. The once simple vegetable garden had grown into a farm with chickens running around. It truly was amazing how they'd manage to survive for a whole year.

Norrie walked down the steps, stopping briefly to tickle baby Alice and twirl her around. She walked towards the edge of the dome, waving to Carolyn, who was busy picking tomatoes, on her way. She reached the dome wall and stopped.

"You sure that's a smart idea?" she said.

In front of her, Julia turned out, slightly startled, as she pulled her hand away from the dome wall. She gave the young woman a smile, "what?"

Norrie stepped forward, standing right next to Julia and looked outside. It was a new world beyond the dome walls. After months of fire and chaos, the world settled down and slowly but confidently, it grew back, stronger and brighter than before.

"Are you sure you should be touching it… you know… in your condition?" Norrie asked.

Julia smiled, looking down at her very pregnant belly, she brought her hand to it. "Yeah, I think I will be fine," she said.

"Are you sure?" Norrie asked, genuinely concerned, "Remember what happened to Harriet?"

Julia giggled, "You sound like Barbie, Nor," she teased.

Norrie laughed, "he's a little overprotective, isn't he?"

Julia laughed, "Oh, that's the understatement of the century!" Norrie laughed for a moment before becoming serious again. "No, really though, are you sure it's safe for you to touch it?"

Julia was silent for a long moment. She looked outside, deep in thought, then back at Norrie. "We need answers, Norrie. They've been silent for almost a year and we need to know. We cannot stay here forever," Julia said, "and if it can talk to me… It chose _us _for a reason… and I can't stand the wait anymore. Just sitting and waiting… It's killing me," Julia sighed, "I'm going to have a child soon and I need to know what world I am bringing this child into."

* * *

_8 Months Earlier_

Julia's eyes fluttered open as she slowly adjusted to the morning light. She stretched her body and turned around, knowing perfectly well that the bed next to her was empty. If he had been there, she would have woken to his arms wrapped around her, instead of just a light blanket. She touched hissed of the bed and noticed it was cold. He must have been up for some time.

She walked into the kitchen to the smell of fresh coffee and smiled. She was greeted by an upbeat Joe and a slightly grumpy Norrie. "Good morning, guys," she smiled. "Morning," Joe beamed and handed her a warm mug, one which she accepted with a wide grin.

"Norrie? Everything ok?" she asked the young woman.

"No," Norrie mumbled, "why does the sun have to rise so early in this god forsaken place?" she said and dropped her head onto the table.

Julia and Joe laughed just as Hunter, Sam and Junior came in, the edges of their pants dirty with mud from the garden.

They had slowly started adjusting to this new life of theirs. It took them some time to accept that this reality was here to stay, at least for a while. But after all the signs the dome had given them, the assurances that it was for their safety, they had come to accept it, and it's temporary status. They had firm belief that they will soon get the chance to have normal lives. After weeks of madness outside the dome. things had finally settled down and a promise of a better future had become slightly more believable.

"Do you guys want me to start on breakfast?" Julia asked.

"Nope," Joe said with a wide grin.

"Why not?" Julia asked in confusion, "don't you guys want to eat breakfast?"

"We do," Joe said, still unable to hide his smile, "but not from you."

"What are you talking about?" Julia asked, now completely confused by the teenager's actions.

"What he's trying to say is that, Barbie asked to tell you he needs you," Norrie chimed in.

"Barbie?" Julia asked and looked around, "where is he anyway?"

"He told us to tell you to meet him at the opposite edge of the dome," Joe said.

"Barbie?" Julia called out as she made her way through the heavily wooded part of the estate. "Over here!" She heard his voice and walked towards it. A few moments later she found him in a clearing, kneeling down with his back to her.

"Barbie? What's going on?" she said, almost out of breath, "What's..." She cut her question short when he stood up and turned around, and she saw what was on the ground.

Laid there was a picnic blanket, topped with all kinds of fruits and sandwiches. She smiled and stepped towards him.

"What's all this?" she asked.

"Our first real date," he said, his lips spreading into a smile. Julia's eyes widened, and so did her smile. She closed the distance between them and kissed him sweetly.

She pulled back and ran her fingers through his hair, "it sure took you long enough," she teased and he laughed.

"I wasn't sure you'd say yes," he laughed, "you've been giving me all the mixed signals." Julia laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her close, hugged her tightly.

She buried her face in his neck, whispering in his ear, "I love you."

* * *

One more chapter to go! Hope you guys enjoyed this.


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